Russian teachers protest over low wages

["Ulhas Joglekar" <ulhasj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Saturday
18 November 2000

Russian teachers protest over low wages
VLADIVOSTOK: Thousands of teachers in the Russian Far East held strikes and
rallies Friday to demanding an hike in their wages at least to subsistence
levels.
School teachers in the Primorye region on Russia's Pacific coast earn an
average of 700 rubles ($25) a month, while the minimal cost of living in the
region is estimated at 2005 rubles ($72), said the head of a local teachers'
union, Raisa Shabanova.
The ITAR-Tass news agency estimated 35,000 teachers across the region took
part in the protest, the largest recent teachers' strike in Russia.
In addition to low wages, teachers in the area have to hold classes in
unheated rooms, where temperatures hover around 5 degrees C (40 F), because
municipal authorities and energy providers are deadlocked in a payments
dispute.
Russia's RTR television showed one group of teachers gathered for a strike
meeting in a chilly classroom, dressed in thick coats and hats.
Government employees such as teachers and doctors are among the lowest-paid
people in Russia, and in the 1990s often went months without pay because of
the government's financial troubles. (AP)
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